How to run paid ads for a local service business

Choose the right platform first

Ask one question: do people search for what you do, or do they need to see it first?

• Google Ads works best for needs people actively search for: plumbers, roofers, emergency dentists, locksmiths, cleaners, lawyers.
• Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok work best for visual or planned services: detailing, renovations, cosmetic treatments, fitness, restaurants, real estate.

Most local businesses start with one platform, prove it works, then add the second. Our Google Ads vs Meta ads guide goes deeper.

Set a budget you can keep for 90 days

Ads need time and data to improve. A budget you can hold steady for 60 to 90 days beats a big budget you cut after two weeks. Costs per click and per lead vary a lot by industry and city, so look at what a new customer is worth to you over a year, then work backwards to what you can afford to pay for one.

You should always pay the ad platforms directly from your own card, so you see exactly what is spent.

Set up Google search campaigns properly

1. Target the area you actually serve, by radius or by city.
2. Build ad groups around each service, using phrase and exact match keywords like "roof repair" and "roofer near me".
3. Add negative keywords early ("jobs", "salary", "DIY", "free") so you stop paying for the wrong searches.
4. Add call, location and sitelink assets so your ad is bigger and easier to act on.
5. Run ads during the hours you can answer, or make sure an automatic reply covers the rest.

In the US and Canada, many trades and home services can also run Google Local Services Ads, where you pay per lead and can earn a Google verification badge. They are worth testing alongside search ads.

Set up Meta, Instagram and TikTok ads properly

• Show real work: before and after shots, short clips of the job, your team on site. Real beats stock every time.
• Lead with a clear offer or reason to act now, such as a free inspection or a limited booking window.
• Target people within your service area, and let the platform find buyers from there.
• Make new creatives every month. Ads tire as people see them repeatedly.

Send clicks to a page built for one action

Do not send ad traffic to your homepage. Use a landing page that matches the ad, shows proof, and has one obvious next step: call, message or book. Every extra choice on the page lowers the number of people who act.

Track bookings, not clicks

Set up conversion tracking for calls, form submissions, chats and booked appointments, using the Google Ads tag and the Meta pixel with its Conversions API. When the platforms know which clicks became customers, they find you more of them. Without tracking, you are optimising for clicks, which is the most common reason ads "do not work".

Answer every lead within minutes

The money you spend on ads is only as good as your follow-up. A missed call from an ad is a paid lead handed to a competitor. Missed-call text-back and instant replies protect every lead you pay for. See how to answer every lead.

Improve every week

Once a week, check the search terms you paid for and block irrelevant ones, pause ads with poor results, test one new creative or headline, and look at cost per booked job. Scale the budget only when that number is where you want it.